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Hi, I was gigging tonight and walked just on the power supply jack connected to my POD HD500. I then saw my unit dead. Awful. The power jack is destroyed, and some bits of plastic were broken on the unit, but the pin inside looks fine.

I bet the unit pin is more reliable than the power supply, but I'm afraid of having it broken, because I turned it around and couldn't make any connection. Or maybe the power supply died because of security ?

Anyway, no chance of finding a compatible power supply at home or with my friends. I will have to wait for Monday to go to the shop and I have a gig on Tuesday !

Do you think my unit died ? Or will I be fine with another power supply ?

If it has died, can it be fixed by sending back the unit for service ? I assume the warranty will be void... :(

Oh, and another possibility, you may not have done anything to your power supply either. if you're on a time crunch, you may be able to get some local electronics dude to just fit a new connector for you and it may be good to go. They could certainly test the power supply and see if it's dead or not.

It's a damn shame for any company to build a product like a tank and then turn around and depend on a cheap Chinese wall wart as a power supply.

On stage anything is bound to happen (it's often dark and musicians & roadies walk on stuff without even knowning it's there) so why use a cheap power supply with a junky thin ass wire and not even put a 90 degree angle end on the plug going into the unit?

Worse yet is for Line 6 to charge $50 for a replacement - that thing isn't worth more than $10.

Vox did the same thing with the Tone Lab pedal.

The power supply should be internal and they could use a standard power cord as used on thousands of guitar amps, keyboards, mixing boards, computers, power amps, etc.

If that cord gets lost or broken at least you can go to Radio Shack and get a new one for 5 or 6 bucks.

It's a damn shame for any company to build a product like a tank and then turn around and depend on a cheap Chinese wall wart as a power supply.

On stage anything is bound to happen (it's often dark and musicians & roadies walk on stuff without even knowning it's there) so why use a cheap power supply with a junky thin *** wire and not even put a 90 degree angle end on the plug going into the unit?

Worse yet is for Line 6 to charge $50 for a replacement - that thing isn't worth more than $10.

Vox did the same thing with the Tone Lab pedal.

The power supply should be internal and they could use a standard power cord as used on thousands of guitar amps, keyboards, mixing boards, computers, power amps, etc.

If that cord gets lost or broken at least you can go to Radio Shack and get a new one for 5 or 6 bucks.

I've seen you b|tch about the power supply before and most of your comments are still hyperbolic.

As a guitarist, you are responsible for your set up and making sure it's safe.

Knowing that the PSU is a week point in the system means that it doesn't take much to fortify your set up so that it's protected.

The key thing to do is to NOT have your PSU cable stretched across a stage, but to have it plugged into a standard Power Extension cable which means you can keep the PSU in close proportion to the HD unit itself which in theory, adds protection.

Another thing to do, is to use a pedalboard. Not only does this protect your HD during transit, but for gigs/practice, it raises it up off the floor just enough to create enough of a barrier so that people don't step near your set up unneccassarily close.

It would be VERY unlucky and very little to do with the quality of PSU if someone managed to stand on your HD unit and break the PSU............

I agree wholeheartedly, that it would have been far more desirable to have an internal PSU and to be able to use Kettle Leads with the HD units. But they don't and no amount of bitching is going to change this.

I've seen you b|tch about the power supply before and most of your comments are still hyperbolic.

As a guitarist, you are responsible for your set up and making sure it's safe.

Knowing that the PSU is a week point in the system means that it doesn't take much to fortify your set up so that it's protected.

The key thing to do is to NOT have your PSU cable stretched across a stage, but to have it plugged into a standard Power Extension cable which means you can keep the PSU in close proportion to the HD unit itself which in theory, adds protection.

Another thing to do, is to use a pedalboard. Not only does this protect your HD during transit, but for gigs/practice, it raises it up off the floor just enough to create enough of a barrier so that people don't step near your set up unneccassarily close.

You do realize, don't you, that many gigging players perform in venues that DO NOT HAVE A STAGE? And, as a gigging guitarist, you surely must realize that a rig is never really "safe"? And that for many of us, including myself, the HD500 was purchased so that we could DITCH THE PEDALBOARD - all I use at my feet is the HD500, and I ain't gonna' buy a pedalboard just for the HD500, nor should I (or anyone else) have to buy one just because of a simple design flaw like the power plug. And raising up the HD500 doesn't exactly create a "barrier" either.

My HD500 PSU is always plugged into an extension cord, but that won't solve the problem of the dancer (or, at my last gig, a preacher who was reciting wedding vows while standing in front of my HD500) with their back to the band area backing up and accidentally stepping on the extended power connector (all of my other cables have right angle connectors going into the back of the HD500).

So, I said it before, and I'll say it again - the HD500 PSU should have a right angle power plug. And the PSU replacement cost shouldn't exceed $25.

You do realize, don't you, that many gigging players perform in venues that DO NOT HAVE A STAGE? And, as a gigging guitarist, you surely must realize that a rig is never really "safe"? And that for many of us, including myself, the HD500 was purchased so that we could DITCH THE PEDALBOARD - all I use at my feet is the HD500, and I ain't gonna' buy a pedalboard just for the HD500, nor should I (or anyone else) have to buy one just because of a simple design flaw like the power plug. And raising up the HD500 doesn't exactly create a "barrier" either.

My HD500 PSU is always plugged into an extension cord, but that won't solve the problem of the dancer (or, at my last gig, a preacher who was reciting wedding vows while standing in front of my HD500) with their back to the band area backing up and accidentally stepping on the extended power connector (all of my other cables have right angle connectors going into the back of the HD500).

So, I said it before, and I'll say it again - the HD500 PSU should have a right angle power plug. And the PSU replacement cost shouldn't exceed $25.

Ain't nothin' "hyperbolic" about it.

A pedalboard is an accessorie that any guitarist worried about keeping their equipment safe (like people in this thread) should utilise for two reasons. Firstly, good pedal boards double as Hard cases. Gear gets damaged most during transit, so that is one reason that is as good as any for still using a pedalboard.

Secondly, and like I said before, having your pedal board raised up, does in fact minimise the chances of the your HD getting damaged, should someone accidentally step on it. More often that not, it's possible to set up a device so that cables are supported by the sides of the pedal board so that should something happen, the jacks are not just going to be sheared off.....

However the crux of all this is the part you conveniently missed out from your quote, and that is that It would be VERY unlucky and very little to do with the quality of PSU if someone managed to stand on your HD unit and break the PSU and or PSU jack socket.............

And I don't see how shortening the length that the jack sticks out of the HD by a few millimeters by using an angled jack would really make much of a difference anyway.

Seems to me, if you are unlucky enough to have someone step on that exact point of the HD without a pedal board, the jack is going to get broken regardless.

And I don't see how shortening the length that the jack sticks out of the HD by a few millimeters by using an angled jack would really make much of a difference anyway.

Actually, I think this would make quite a difference.

Firstly, it's a smaller target to hit but more importantly, the leverage multiplier would be much smaller and therefore, much less likely to break it even if you did step on it, plus you'd end up with more shear force (which it probably can take), instead of a bending moment (which it clearly can't take).

My personal preference would be an onboard transformer, but in the low likelihood of that occurring, a right-angled jack goes at least part of the way.

And I don't see how shortening the length that the jack sticks out of the HD by a few millimeters by using an angled jack would really make much of a difference anyway.

Actually, I think this would make quite a difference.

Firstly, it's a smaller target to hit but more importantly, the leverage multiplier would be much smaller and therefore, much less likely to break it even if you did step on it, plus you'd end up with more shear force (which it probably can take), instead of a bending moment (which it clearly can't take).

My personal preference would be an onboard transformer, but in the low likelihood of that occurring, a right-angled jack goes at least part of the way.

Maybe an angled jack would be marginally more favourable, but like I said, given the size of the jack, if you are unlucky enough to have someone step on that exact point of the HD, the jack is going to get broken regardless.

Angled ends if designed properly when pushed all the way in fit tightly against the pedal board and allows very little chance of breakage as the plug sticking straight out does.

Secondly I've played on many concert stages around the US over the past 30 years and in that setting you don't have to worry about drunks, preachers and other unauthorized strays wandering about the stage.

In that setting I use 3 amps with a Ground Control relay switching unit.

The only pedal board is the Midi controlled board that recieves it's power through commercial grade midi cable - all my effects pedals are stored safely in a rack next to my guitar amps.

The HD 500 is for the small duo gigs where no one wants to carry anything more than is needed.

I carry my HD 500 in an Anvil case for protection - no stupid plastic pedal board - it raises the HD 500 off the ground and makes using the pedal arkward. The angle is just right by design with the HD 500 sitting flat on the floor.

So Octo in my opinion complaining about a design flaw is really the only way Line 6 on any other Manufacturer is going to make changes to a product.

Obviously some of us here feel that the piece of crap wall wart is ill designed so what's wrong with letting Line 6 (who views this forum every day) know about it.

If we don't speak up they will never make improvements or fix design flaws.

They built the HD 500 out of metal - like a tank but then they turn around and power it with a cheap, junkie wall wart.

That makes no damn sense to me at all regardless of what you might think.

From the first pod series up to the X3, the power adapters have always had an angled connector, as I recall. An angled one on the HD would have been better IMHO. That being said, I don't feel that the wall wart is especially cheap -- people complain of the "filmsy" power cord, but I tell you, this is WAY stronger than the X3's (which had the same PSU unit of the XT, but whose wart-to-unit cable was much flimsier than the predecessor's). Also I believe the short length is a hint to use an extension. This isn't particularly well-designed, and for one thing spares are certainly overpriced. It's not the end of the world, either...

Angled ends if designed properly when pushed all the way in fit tightly against the pedal board and allows very little chance of breakage as the plug sticking straight out does.

Secondly I've played on many concert stages around the US over the past 30 years and in that setting you don't have to worry about drunks, preachers and other unauthorized strays wandering about the stage.

In that setting I use 3 amps with a Ground Control relay switching unit.

The only pedal board is the Midi controlled board that recieves it's power through commercial grade midi cable - all my effects pedals are stored safely in a rack next to my guitar amps.

The HD 500 is for the small duo gigs where no one wants to carry anything more than is needed.

I carry my HD 500 in an Anvil case for protection - no stupid plastic pedal board - it raises the HD 500 off the ground and makes using the pedal arkward. The angle is just right by design with the HD 500 sitting flat on the floor.

So Octo in my opinion complaining about a design flaw is really the only way Line 6 on any other Manufacturer is going to make changes to a product.

Obviously some of us here feel that the piece of crap wall wart is ill designed so what's wrong with letting Line 6 (who views this forum every day) know about it.

If we don't speak up they will never make improvements or fix design flaws.

They built the HD 500 out of metal - like a tank but then they turn around and power it with a cheap, junkie wall wart.

That makes no damn sense to me at all regardless of what you might think.

I still maintain, while it might help slightly, an angled jack is not going to do much in the grand scale of things to save it getting broken should it get stood on.

It's just not, and I think folks are being overly optimistic that an angled jack will save them in that instance.

And again, take into account the actual chances of it happening and it makes the matter even less significant.

And regardless, none of these scenarios leaves the overall quality of the PSU in question here. The PSU does the job it's designed to do perfectly and since no PSU is ever meant to be stood on, let alone withstand someone standing directly on the jack socket when it's in use, leaves any further arguments about it's overall quality in this situation a tad pointless.

And who said anything about stupid plastic pedal boards????

I'm talking about high quality Flight Case grade pedal boards. So what, it raises the HD up off the ground an inch or two......boo hoo, you have to raise your foot a whole inch or two higher?........small price to pay for keeping your board safe.......

Well the store was closed today... Too bad. But I met a friend with a bunch of adapters and jacks : no luck with any of them. So I came to the conclusion that the unit pin is bent or something..

I'll still will go to the shop tomorrow and if it is what I fear, I will go to a local repair shop to see what can be done. I don't want to send the unit back for repair and see it come back in one month or more.

All you will need is a copy of your receipt and you can have the unit repaired for free.

Thanks,

David

Line 6 Customer Support

Re: RE: Power supply jack broken !
by Ayerown on 2011-06-20 16:29:21
Thanks Line6David, but are you sure this will be taken under warranty ? This is accidental damage, not sure service center will repair for free...